Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels and media outlets in Russian and English are actively spreading such a message.
It is claimed that, according to ISW research, 70 percent Ukrainian prisoners of war refuse to have their names included on exchange lists.
Allegedly, this is because every third soldier in the Ukrainian Armed Forces is “persecuted” or “indicted” for treason for being captured.
Some of the hoaxes even include a video featuring a fake quote from former CIA director David Petraeus purporting to talk about Ukrainians’ reluctance to return from captivity for fear of being jailed or beaten. But he never said such a phrase.
Poor quality fake
There is no such video on the official website of ISW or on the institute’s social media accounts.
on the Instagram account ISW last published the video back in May, and there is no video on the YouTube channel about Ukrainian soldiers allegedly afraid to return home.
In addition, the original short video clips created by ISW are significantly different from the format used by propagandists – graphic elements, color, font were not taken into account during the forgery.
Also, the original posts show a call to donate to the institute’s activities at the end, while the fake shows logos of social networks.
A closer look at the video reveals that footage previously shown by Russian propagandists is interspersed among the images.
For example, the scene showing the coats of Ukrainian prisoners of war placed on a table is borrowed from the propaganda TV channel Zvezda of the Russian Ministry of Defense in 2022. February 25 reportage.
Screenshot /Melagiena shot (left) and “Zvezda” in 2022. February report shot (left)
Trying to cover up war crimes
The sudden Russian concern for the welfare of Ukrainian prisoners of war is likely due to the fact that the country has recently been accused of war crimes.
This year, it was even recorded several times how Russian soldiers shot unarmed Ukrainians who had surrendered.
Two such cases were recorded in October alone, one of which is considered the most massive massacre of prisoners of war since the beginning of the war.
On the 2nd of October The General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine reportedthat recently Russian occupiers executed 16 Ukrainian prisoners of war in the direction of Pokrovsk.
It is noted that in 2024 October 1 in the afternoon, a video was published on several Telegram channels, showing how representatives of the Russian armed forces probably shot 16 Ukrainian soldiers. The occupiers committed a war crime on the territory of the villages of Nikolaivka and Suchoy Yar of the Pokrovsk district.
V. Zelensky’s X account/207 Ukrainians released from Russian captivity
“The released video shows captured soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine leaving the forest under the control of the enemy. As they lined up, the occupiers deliberately opened fire on them to kill them. The wounded, who showed signs of life, were finished off by a round of machine gun fire at close range,” the statement said.
The Prosecutor’s Office noted that such actions are a cynical and gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and are classified as serious international crimes. According to former Prosecutor General Andrei Kostin, this is the largest known case of execution of Ukrainian POWs on the front line.
Already on October 13, the situation was repeated. Ukraine’s Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Project Deepstate reportedthat the Russian army shot nine surrendered Ukrainians in the Kursk region.
The project relied on information from the Ukrainian military, and published photos believed to have been taken at the scene of the murder.
According to the investigators, the Ukrainian soldiers thought they were in the rear and did not expect the Russians to appear. Nevertheless, they greeted them with fire. Running out of ammunition, the Ukrainians surrendered. The Russians allegedly disarmed them, told them to undress and shot them.
In those published by Deepstate in photos from the height of the flight can be seen the bodies of people stripped down to their underwear.
Still shot/Russians mock Ukrainian prisoners
Another killing of prisoners was recorded on October 18.
Russian occupiers shot two captured soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the city of Selydove (Donetsk region).
According to the General Prosecutor’s Office, opponents who invaded the forest near the city of Selydovë laid unarmed Ukrainian soldiers face down:
“They held them in this position with their legs pressed to the ground, and after a while they shot them with automatic weapons at close range.”
Photo of the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office/The Russians killed captured Ukrainian soldiers near Selidove
15min verdict: lie. The Institute for Military Research has not published any similar study.
The publication was prepared in 15 minutes in partnership with Metait aims to stop the spread of misleading news on the social network. More about the program and its rules – here.
Source: www.15min.lt
